Sts. Constantine and Helen

The Icon

Feast Day - May 21st

The Empress St. Helen and her son, St. Constantine, are shown in Byzaantine royal clothing and crowns, and, as always, with the Holy Cross of Christ, which the Empress sought and found beneath Golgotha. In 395, St. John Chrysostom wrote of three crosses which were discovered by the Empress. Many miracles occurred through contact with one of these crosses and it was through one of these miracles that the true cross was recognized by St. Helen and St. Macarius, the Bishop of Jerusalem.

Troparion in tone 8

Your servant Constantine, O Lord and only Lover of Man,
Beheld the figure of the Cross in the Heavens,
And like Paul, not having received his call from men,
But as an Apostle among rulers set by Your hand over the royal city,
He preserved lasting peace through the prayers of the Theotokos.

Kontakion in tone 3

With his mother Helen, Constantine today brings to light the precious Cross:
The shame of unbelievers,
The weapon of Orthodox Christians against their enemies,
For it is manifest for us as a great and fearful sign in struggle!

For information concerning the lives of Sts. Constantine and Helen please click here